Achieving victory in the end times | Revelation 12:1-17

Are you winning? Do you have people in your office, or you work in a warehouse or even a school, and people just come up to you all the time and they go, “Are you winning? Are you winning, mate?” Maybe you are that person who walks up to everybody. You just walk into an elevator, and like my father-in-law, he just walks into an elevator and just looks at people and goes, “Are you winning, mate?” I never know what to say there because I don’t actually know what they mean. Are they just asking me, “Are you doing your job?” Are they asking me, “Am I having fun at my job?” Maybe they just don’t have anything else to talk about. Let’s be honest.

Here’s a question for Christians. Are we winning, like the Christian church? A little earlier this year, I typed into Google, into the new AI-enhanced search engine, and said, “the church losing,” and it came back with 59 million specific results. Now, if you type in “Parramatta Eels losing,” you only get 220,000 results. And that’s weird because Parramatta loses all the time. I should know; I’ve been supporting them for 49 years and I’ve been in therapy for 40.

The language of winning and losing permeates our culture. Every group wants to know if they’re winning, and what they mean by that is, are they making a difference? Are they having an effect? And lots of people think the church is losing. It’s pretty much the only thing Christians and non-Christians agree about the church: that we commonly adopt the language of losing. We’re losing numbers, losing relevance, losing power. At the last census, the number of people identifying with Christianity dropped below 50% for the first time in Australia. And the one we’re about to do this month is unlikely to reverse that trend, as best I can tell.

So are we winning? That all depends, because what would winning look like? If we were killing it, if we were crushing it, if we were doing everything right, what do you expect to see? What is the mental image that you have of the church winning? The way you answer that question will radically affect the way you think Christians should behave in our culture. It’ll radically affect it. And here’s the thing: the book of Revelation is all about winning for real.

Now, our translations don’t use the word “winning.” They use other words like “conquer” or “be victorious” or “overcome.” But the underlying Greek verb that is in those translations is the verb nikao, meaning to conquer or to win. It’s where we get the word Nike from. Yes, the shoes are named after the idea of victory in the Greek language. And so the book of Revelation keeps on encouraging Christians to win. This is what it says in Revelation 2:7, “to the one who is victorious.” Revelation 2:11, “whoever is victorious.” In fact, if you go to all of the seven messages to the churches, they all end on a call to be victorious, a call to overcome, a call to conquer, depending upon which translation you use. All the same meaning. Because Jesus tells his churches, “I want you to win. I want you to win.”

Win at what? That’s the question. Because “winning” is like a Play-Doh metaphor. You know, Play-Doh, that stuff we give to kids, and sometimes they use it to mold stuff and sometimes they eat it, and that’s okay. But a Play-Doh metaphor is a metaphor that you can mold whichever way you want. And so when Christians hear that Jesus wants you to win, some Christians think, “Great, we’re going to win the election.” Some Christians think, “Fantastic. Now I can buy $5,000 sneakers because I’m winning for Jesus.” Jesus wants you to win, friend. Which must mean Jesus wants to give me money and power, right? How does God want us to be victorious? It really matters that we get that right, because that’s what Revelation says.

Jesus Is The Model For How We Win

The answer is simple. Jesus is the model for how we win. I want to take you back to a chapter we looked at last week to begin with, chapter 5. In chapter 5, we have that vision in the heavenly throne room of the lion who is the lamb. It says in chapter 5:5, “But one of the 24 elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping. Look, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.’” Now, what it says there is the lion of the tribe of Judah has won the victory. In Greek, that’s the exact same word that Jesus uses to tell his churches to be victorious. Exact same word, which means we win when we imitate how he wins.

And so, how did he win? Verse six of that same passage: “Then I saw a lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the 24 elders.” And then verse 9, “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it, for you were slaughtered and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Which means that chapter 5 is saying Jesus wins through self-sacrificial love.

Why would you win like that? Why would you bother winning like that? Because the manner, the way of Jesus’s victory is not about what’s in it for him. It’s about what’s in it for his enemies. God didn’t need the cross in order to experience victory over evil. Sinners needed the cross in order to share in God’s victory over evil. And so God conquers through a cross. God conquers through sacrificing his son in our place so that lost people can come home and so that those who are enemies of God can be made friends. And that is how we are meant to win: following the pattern of Jesus.

Not that we have to die for the sins of the world. But how do we follow the pattern of Jesus? We’ll keep reading, because once you understand that following the pattern of Jesus is at the core of what the book of Revelation is calling you to, it switches on the lights as to what God is trying to do in the entire book for his people. The entire New Testament is trying to tell us that Jesus is both our savior and our pattern. We don’t just want to trust him; we want to be like him.

Which is why every single person who is commended in the book of Revelation is ready to suffer for their faith. Whether it’s believers in Smyrna, whether it’s Antipas in the city of Pergamum, whether it’s two witnesses who are pictured in chapter 11, the enormous crowd in Revelation 7, they are all defined by this common fact. They are all characters who are commended because they are living sacrificially for the sake of others. It’s the common denominator.

Understanding The Battle In Revelation 12

You see it again in Revelation 12, which was read for us. Revelation 12 is right in the center of the book. It’s a 22-chapter book, bang in the center. Here is Revelation 12. And what’s really noticeable is that this chapter is not primarily about judgment or locusts or beasts or hailstones. It’s about discipleship. It’s about us more than anything else. Because all the judgment stuff that has been happening all throughout the book from that throne room vision onwards, what’s chapters 6 to 11, you’ve seen seven seals opened and seven trumpets blown and judgment upon judgment poured out upon the world. And you’ve seen the world seemingly end multiple times. And at the end of chapter 11, it’s like God grabs the remote control and he pauses the stream for just a moment.

For this reason: in the midst of all this judgment and salvation that’s going on, what am I meant to do as I wait for the return of Jesus? What am I meant to do? Because whatever God is doing in bringing judgment upon this world, that’s not my job. I’m not on the planning committee for the second coming. That’s not my job. So, what am I to do as I wait for Jesus and for him to return? Do I just sit there with a wall chart placing bets on whether it will be today? A lot of Christians seem to think that’s what we should do. This is a website; it’s live today. It consistently gives a rating on whether we’re about to have Jesus come back or not. What are we doing to wait for Jesus and his return? To answer that, let’s look at Revelation 12.

The First Coming Of Jesus Was A Declaration Of War

Did you notice that what Revelation 12 talks about in the first instance is the first coming of Jesus? Most visions in Revelation are focused on either the present or the future. Revelation 12 starts with a picture from the past. It’s picturing the birth of Jesus. Revelation 12 is Christmas like you’ve never heard it before. We’re used to the baby in the manger, shepherds popping in, casual visits from wise men. Here we get a vision of a dragon hovering over a pregnant woman about to eat her baby. It’s like Stephen King did the rewrite on the Christmas screenplay. Nobody gets Christmas cards with this scene on it, do they? “Dear Mark, saw this card with a dragon attacking a woman and thought of you and your family. Hope you’re well.”

Why is God showing me the birth of Jesus looking like this? By the way, I have preached Revelation 12 as a Christmas sermon. It is possible. And they came back the next week. It was good. Why does God picture it like this? The first thing we need to understand is because the first coming of Jesus was a declaration of war. In verse 5, it says that this child is destined to rule the nations with an iron rod. That language is drawn straight from Psalm 2 in the Old Testament, which celebrates the coming of God’s mighty king. So the arrival of King Jesus was to rescue sinners from death and to destroy the devil. This was war. The birth of Jesus is God entering into the battle through his son to bring his rule. And so when you put your trust in Jesus, you choose sides. The book of Colossians describes it as you’re rescued from the kingdom of darkness and you’re transformed into the kingdom of the Son that he loves. Jesus came to win a victory. He came to win a battle.

The Key Battle Has Already Been Won

But that leads me to my second point, which is simply this: the key battle has already been won. Verse 5 again of Revelation 12 says that despite the threats of that dragon, the child is snatched up to God and to his throne. So in Jesus’s resurrection and his ascension, Jesus is enthroned as the ruler of the world, and death and the devil have been defeated by Jesus at the cross and the resurrection. So that in verses 7 to 9, when you see that a war breaks out in heaven, that is a war that’s already happened. It’s really just the heavenly implementation, the heavenly enforcement of what has already been achieved through Jesus’s death and resurrection.

"And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels."Revelation 12:8-9

And then as we go on to Revelation 12:10, it says, “Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, ‘It has come at last—salvation and power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night.’” Can you hear the language that the battle has already been won?

But if that’s true, why does it still feel like a war? Even Revelation 12 says this at the end of the passage in verse 17. It says that the dragon continues to war against God’s children. That’s after he’s been thrown out of heaven. How can that all fit together? Because like the rest of the New Testament, Revelation tells us that while Satan has been defeated, he has not yet been destroyed. His power is shattered, but his presence has not been eliminated. And so here’s the fascinating thing. In this in-between time, between the first and the second coming of Jesus, between his defeat of Satan and the destruction of Satan, the irony is that in that in-between time, Satan’s aggression towards the church actually increases.

Have you looked at verse 12 of this passage? “For the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.” Because he has been defeated, Satan attacks even harder, hoping you’ll ignore the scoreboard. Be like the Cowboys on Friday night or Thursday night being beaten 80-something or whatever by the Roosters and sitting there going, “I’m going to hurt you, Rooster dude,” and one of the Roosters players just simply turns around and goes, “Check out the scoreboard.” But if for a moment you can forget the scoreboard, Satan can have his way. Because he’s been defeated, Satan attacks even harder. I used to think every time I discerned the presence of the evil one in my life that I was meant to get scared. Revelation 12 actually flips that on its head. Revelation 12 says that when Satan continues to attack the church even harder, it’s the sign of his defeat. It’s the sign that he knows he has little time. That’s why the key function that he operates with is deception. He’s trying to tell you something that isn’t true.

Our Warfare Is Witness

But still, all of this begs a question. Why does God leave us in this already decided war? Which is really just the same question as before. What are we doing while we wait for Jesus’s return? What is our job? That leads me to the third point. Our warfare is witness. That’s our job. We testify that Jesus is Lord. We don’t win the battle; we announce the victory. When Revelation says you should conquer, here’s how we conquer: when you proclaim his victory with your life and with your lips. It’s right there in verse 11. Have a look with me.

"And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die."Revelation 12:11

So I’ll repeat what I said a little earlier. Every person who’s commended in the book of Revelation is ready to suffer for their faith. Why? Is God like a sadist? You want to be real careful here with this material. Because when Christians talk about suffering, it can so easily sound like we want to suffer for Jesus, as if we think suffering is enjoyable. And I want to say that’s abominable to say that. Nobody thinks suffering is enjoyable who is in their right mind, including Christians.

And there’s also something else I need to say to be extra careful here: that there are different categories of suffering in the Bible. There’s a difference between suffering because of sickness and suffering because you are a Christian. They both hurt a lot, but they’re different. And so when I’m talking about suffering today, I’m not really referring to the pain and the difficulty and the agony of chronic illness. And I say that as a father of one child who has managed to be given two chronic illnesses before the age of 16. I know what that is like as a dad. I’m not talking about that. There’s plenty of other biblical passages that address that kind of difficulty and that suffering. There’s another category of suffering I’m specifically speaking to. It’s this: it’s the suffering we endure because of our allegiance to Christ.

Because when you’re a Christian, even when you’re doing it right, you’re doing a good job at following Jesus, you still will often suffer. In fact, the New Testament assumes you will almost certainly suffer at some point for your faith in Jesus in some way, shape, or form. It just seems to have that baked in as an assumption. Now, why does God let that happen to us? Is God just testing whether you can hang on till heaven? Is that the whole point? It’s just like an endurance test. I remember as a teenager hearing a sermon on Revelation, and the preacher, who was gloriously North American, said, “I could summarize Revelation for you in two words.” And everyone was like, “This is awesome. This is a very complicated book. I’d love you to boil it down to two words, dude.” And he said, “Here’s the summary: God wins.” I flip forward to the ending, and God wins. It was a really good talk. Everyone was dialed in. It was fantastic. Except for this problem: most people heard that and they thought, “God wins, and therefore all I need to do in response is grip my teeth, hold on to the handrailing, and in the end I’ll get the chocolates.” So all the suffering in the book, that’s just me proving I really, really, really want this. And I want to say to you, that’s sort of true, but nowhere near enough true, because suffering for your faith in the New Testament always includes at its center love for others.

And there’s a simple principle that undergirds this, and it’s this: I would rather suffer than have people miss out on the gospel. And the reason that is our principle is because it was his principle first. Jesus chose the way of sacrifice so that lost people could be found. Jesus chose the way of suffering so that enemies could be made friends. And therefore, the love that drove him is the love that drives us. I don’t like suffering, but I love seeing lost people come to Jesus. And so, in Revelation 14:4, a very, very obscure little passage, there’s a tiny little reference to a group of people who are disciples of the lamb. And there’s a bunch of descriptions in that passage, which if you read it would require way more explaining than I can give here. And that’s okay. But one thing it says of these disciples that is absolutely stunning is it says, “they follow the lamb wherever he goes.”

What a description of discipleship. They follow the lamb wherever he goes because that’s what a disciple is. A disciple is someone who follows Jesus wherever he goes because a disciple of Jesus just wants to be like him. A disciple of Jesus wants to have his character, which means if necessary, I would rather suffer than have you miss out on the gospel. And so self-sacrificial witness is the way that God so often expands his kingdom. It’s all throughout the book of Acts. It’s all throughout the letters of Peter, all throughout the letters of Paul. The gospel advances by self-sacrificial love. It’s not that you must suffer. It’s not that you seek out suffering. It’s not that you desire it or want it or want to bring it upon yourself by any other means than authentic witness to Christ. It just means that you’re willing to because Jesus is so good. I don’t just want him for myself; I want him for others, too. I want everyone to delight in him. And so even in suffering and spiritual warfare that the church experiences, God powerfully uses our self-sacrificial love to show the world a savior whose love is so good I would give up temporary comfort that you might know him.

Are We Winning?

The church wins by following the exact same pattern as Jesus. And it’s been that way with evangelism from the first century onwards. In the history of the church, we have all these numerous accounts throughout every century where people came to faith because of the way that Christians treasured Jesus when they’re under pressure. That’s how non-believing people so often see that Jesus means so much to us. And so 1 Peter 3, that’s a classic verse that people who are training in defending the faith learn. It says, “And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” What a wonderful verse. Always be ready to be able to explain your faith in Jesus. But if you read the wider context of the passage, the only reason that people are asking those questions is because Christians are suffering and not giving up on Jesus. And so you only get asked questions when the pattern of your life demands answers. And that’s the story of how the gospel so often spreads. So often the pattern of Jesus shines forth clearest in how we respond when we are attacked.

Now one of the most common statements in the New Testament is that you demonstrate the power of the gospel when you don’t retaliate. It’s a powerful, powerful thing about discipleship. So if life feels like a spiritual battle to you, Revelation says yes, you are in the middle of something bigger. The devil has been defeated, yet he hasn’t been destroyed. And when we sense that opposition, we might fear for ourselves and we might fear for our churches and we might feel powerless in our influence. But to take us all the way back to the start of today’s talk, it may not feel like we’re winning right at the moment. Some believers are suffering even this very day because of their faith, particularly across the globe, but maybe even right here as well. You are suffering and doing less well in worldly terms because you have chosen to put your trust in Jesus.

And maybe you look at the church right now and she’s losing power and social privilege. And maybe you look at little tiny acts of self-sacrificial love that you do and others do. And you want to ask this question, “God, is suffering for the name of Jesus even worth it?” Because surely what we need is power. Surely what we need is higher status. And absolutely what we need is heaps and heaps of money. Absolutely that’s what we need, is it not? And Revelation says you don’t actually have to have those things. What if all we’ve got are Christlike lives, a Christ-exalting message, and the spirit of Christ in us? Is that enough? Because right now in the West, the church is losing privilege. But we are not losing power unless you think our power is in our privilege.

All things being equal, let me be honest. As someone married to someone who gets paid as a church worker, I would prefer that we have power and some money and some status. I would prefer that. I’m not an idiot. But if I lose those things, the word of God is not chained. And if—and this is maybe the thing we need to hear—if we act to keep our wealth and hold on to political power by surrendering our Christlikeness, then no matter what you get from that transaction, you have lost it all. Because I would rather be poor and politically weak than have someone tell me, “Your life does not look like Jesus.”

Because this is the way God wins. God wins through a sacrificial lamb. And this is how we win. We win through self-sacrificial lives that long to bless the lost and our enemies. So, are we winning? If we’re centered on Jesus and following his way of selfless love, you are conquering, my friend. Even better than that, God will use your faithful witness to bring others to repentance and faith in Jesus. And so, we don’t need to look at statistics or newspaper articles to imagine if we are successful. We look to Jesus crucified and risen, and then we follow in his way of victory, knowing that the end is certain and the victory is already ours.